20 Best Teas to Steep for Your Health

Posted by Amber Dowling on April 6, 2020

Water may be the liquid of life, but a hot, comforting cup of tea is good for the soul — and your health. Whether you’re looking for a mug to help alleviate stress and anxiety, a cuppa for that nausea or heartburn, or even something to sip on to help with your next headache, we’re spilling the tea on all of the best green teas, black teas, herbal teas and everything in between for all of your health needs.

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Best tea for a headache

If you feel a stress — or diet-related headache coming on, reach for a soothing cup of peppermint tea (and maybe rub your temples). Peppermint tea is said to help open up constricted blood vessels in the brain, which should offer a little bit of relief.

Best tea for cramps

Is it that time of the month again? Before you reach for the hot water bottle, fire up the kettle and brew up some fennel tea. Fennel has been used in traditional medicine to help treat bloating, gas, and other digestive issues, but it also works to stop cramps by decreasing inflammation.

Best tea for labour

Pregnant women have been reaching for raspberry leaf tea for years in the weeks leading up to labour. For women who are at the 32 week mark and beyond (and who have discussed such things with their doctor or midwife), sipping on this tea is said to help prepare the uterine muscles for efficient labour.

Best tea for heartburn

If you’re feeling the telltale signs of chest pain from heartburn, reach for some licorice root tea — it has soothing properties that help the digestive system get back on track and can help with upset stomachs and cramping, too.

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Best tea for indigestion

Anyone who has ever felt some stomach strife after a weird (or big!) meal knows how real the struggle is. Steep and sip on some antioxidant-filled spearmint to help tame that tummy and calm your indigestion once and for all.

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Best tea for a cold

There’s no cure for the common cold, but reaching for a cup of elderberry tea could help you to recover more quickly from infection. Black elder (the most common form of elderberry) is said to have antiviral and antimicrobial properties, and has been used in Europe for years.

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Best tea for a sore throat

Most of us can probably agree that anything hot feels nice on a sore throat (especially when honey or lemon is involved), but there’s also something to be said for slippery elm “tea.” When mixed with water, slippery elm gets a gel-like consistency that can help coat your throat and protect it from soreness.

Best tea for mental clarity

It’s time to focus — on that conversation, studying, or something else important. So do what the cool kids do and brew up a cup of gingko tea. The herbal tea has been used for decades to promote brain circulation and increase function, all while increasing the oxygen content of your blood (aka helping boost memory) too.

Best tea for stress

When the old cortisol levels shoot up, lean towards fight, not flight, and reach for a cup of ashwagandha tea. The tea has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for years; it’s said to potentially help lower cortisol levels, getting you one step closer to achieving that calm Zen you’ve been craving.

Best tea for anxiety

There are lots of things to feel anxious about these days, but no matter what’s got you spinning you can always turn to valerian root — something that has been used to help decrease anxiety for hundreds of years. Drinking it in tea form is said to help increase levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid, aka a neurotransmitter in the brain that helps decrease those anxious feelings.

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Best tea for weight loss

It you’re looking for an added to boost to your current weight-loss goals, considering mixing some oolong tea into your diet plant. Oolong is loaded up with metabolism-boosting antioxidants, which could help burn fat more efficiently in your body.

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Best tea for metabolism

If you’re looking to speed up your metabolism, drinking a cup of straight-up green tea may help you burn up to 30 extra calories a day. That’s because it contains a compound known as EGCG, which could be beneficial to revving up the metabolism when consumed in small doses.

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Best tea for alertness

Feel like you need an extra boost to stay awake and alert? Skip the regular cup and go for some periwinkle tea. The plant contains some of the same compounds that scientists use to treat Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, and it could help to increase overall mental function by promoting blood flow to the brain.

Best tea for energy

Feeling a bit sluggish or out of it? Ginseng has been used for centuries in Chinese medicine and is said to contain compounds that help invigorate the whole body. It’s full of two particular compounds called polysaccharides and oligopeptides, which are said to boot energy all the way down at the cellular level.

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Best tea for muscle recovery

Most of us reach for water after a gruelling workout, but if you’re still feeling sore muscles (or want to decrease that two-day, post-gym burn), reach for some matcha green tea. Regular old matcha (and not the coffee shop kind that’s loaded up with sugar) is full of antioxidants that can help muscles recover faster before, during, and after a workout.

Best tea for aches and pains

Treat those inherent aches and pains with a comforting cup of chai. The ingredients in chai — specifically ginger and clove — contain anti-inflammatory properties that could reduce pain, increase circulation, and increase oxygen in the blood cells.

Best tea for lowering cholesterol

When it comes to lowering cholesterol, a balanced diet loaded up with veggies is key. But adding a cup or two of black tea could also help. Black tea comes in many forms, and is full of antioxidants that could be beneficial to your heart and help lower LDL cholesterol levels.

Best tea for heart health

Want to keep the old ticker it tip-top shape? Reach for a cup of antioxidant-filled rooibos tea. Rooibos is said to potentially help decrease blood pressure and even out cholesterol levels, two important things to maintain in order to prevent heart disease.

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Best tea for relaxation

There’s a reason they say to stop and smell the roses — the scent alone helps you to relax (not to mention breathe). When brewed in water, rose tea helps with relaxation thanks to flavonoids, which target stress-causing cortisol. An added bonus? Rose tea can also help you fall into a deeper, more peaceful sleep.

Best tea for sleep

There’s a reason chamomile tea remains one of the hottest herbal teas on the market: it’s been known to help bring on the Zs. That’s because chamomile contains an antioxidant called apigenin, which binds to receptors in your brain to decrease anxiety and helps you to get some of that coveted shut-eye already.